Advanced Television Systems Committee
Advanced Television Systems Committee
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The Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) was formed in 1982 by representatives of the Joint Committee on Inter-Society Coordination (JCIC). The purpose of the ATSC is to facilitate and develop volun- tary technical standards for an advanced television system to replace the aging American NTSC television standard. Originally, the ATSC also made recom- mendations to the U.S. Department of State regarding standards at the International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR). ATSC membership consists of 146 organizations, including representatives from the Na- tional Association of Broadcasters, the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA), the In- stitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, broad- casting organizations, manufacturers, and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE).
Bio
In 1981 Japan’s NHK broadcasting organization demonstrated a working high-definition television (HDTV) system called MUSE, which produced startling clear, rich color images of exceptional resolution. The MUSE system utilized analog technology that was incompatible with the American NTSC color television standard. The MUSE system also required substantially larger spectrum allocations than current NTSC signals. The ATSC accepted the recommendations of the SMPTE by calling for U.S. and worldwide acceptance of Japan’s 1,125/60 standard for HDTV production. In 1986 the CCIR refused to accept the standard, claiming that adoption would be detrimental to the interest of many of its members and participants. Renewed recommendations by the ATSC in 1988 for adoption of the 1,125/60 Japanese standard met with opposition from U.S. network broadcasters because the system requirements were not easily convertible for NTSC usage.
In 1987 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) invited proponents of HDTV to propose a system that would provide terrestrial HDTV to the United States. By 1990 several U.S. entrants proposed all- digital transmission systems that proved preferable to the analog MUSE system. Perhaps the biggest advantage of these digital systems was the potential for scaling HDTV signals into a 6-megahertz bandwidth allowing transmission by terrestrial broadcasters. The ATSC advisory committee developed test procedures to evaluate the different proposed systems. Later, various proponents of digital systems merged their proposals into a compromise hybrid digital system. In 1996 the FCC adopted the ATSC standard and authorized digital television (DTV) broadcasting in the United States.
In 2001 the committee formed the ATSC Forum for the purpose of promoting the adoption of the ATSC digital standard throughout the Western Hemisphere and Asia. Additionally, the ATSC works to promote common DTV services, including digital cable inter-operability, program and system information protocols (PSIP), Internet protocol (IP) multicasting for data broadcasting, closed captioning, and digital application software and hardware specifications to support interactive television and enhancements to the vestigial sideband (VSB) aspects of the U.S. DTV standard.